The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has declared Ibiza to be a World Heritage Site, a decision made on the basis of both natural and cultural criteria..

It is on the basis of culture that Dalt Vila is declared, since it is a fortification which in the modern age still remains intact.

Dalt Vilas' walls were built within a framework of Mediterranean coastal defences modernisation, in order to defend it from conflict with France and with the Ottoman Empire. 

The construction programme was carried out in two phases. The first phase was launched in January 1555 by building the first strongholds of Sant Jordi and Sant Jaume. Next came those of Sant Pere, Sant Joan and Santa Tecla.

It was in the year 1575, when the area situated on the promontory of Puig de Santa Llúcia needed to be protected. In order to achieve this, it was necessary to relocate the Saint Joan bastion and construct the new Santa Llúcia one, which the main door of the enclosure opened into.

The main door is flanked by two roman statues, the city shield, and on the entrance arch, there is a great stone plaque bearing the arms of Felipe II, the driving force, alongside Charles I, in the walls' construction.